This invention relates generally to toy apparatus, and more particularly, to toy apparatus of both the plastic inflatable type and of the building block type.
There are presently available a multitude of toy products of the building block type. Most conventional building block toys comprise rectangular-shaped members formed of wood or the like adapted to be placed in a free standing manner one upon the other during use. These toys have the disadvantage that where only gravity forces are relied upon to hold the blocks in place, the structures built of such blocks are not always stable, especially where several blocks are stacked one upon the other. Further, such structures generally cannot be moved from one place to another.
Although most building block type toys are of this type, several available building block toys comprise building blocks which are provided with means for detachably interconnecting a plurality of such blocks in various configurations so that a child may use his imagination to construct relatively rigid and stable structures and objects of various types. More particularly, conventional building blocks incorporating means for positively interconnecting a plurality of such block usually are formed of rigid material, such as rigid plastic, and are of relatively small size. The size of such blocks is limited generally for the reason that children in the age group for which such blocks are intended for use, namely in the age group of between three and twelve years, have a tendency to throw their playthings. Thus, should the building blocks which, as mentioned above, are formed of rigid plastic material, be of a larger size, household items may be damaged by such improper use of the toy.
It is well known that children enjoy constructing structures and objects on a large scale, approaching life-size, such as walls, club houses, etc. However, currently available building block toys are not especially suited for such use in that such building blocks, when constructed of sufficiently large size to enable such construction, are dangerous for the reason discussed above. Furthermore, such conventional building blocks are not provided with means for detachably interconnecting the same as a unit in a manner which would permit the child to construct structures and objects of various configurations which are relatively rigid and stable.